


$300, in Total

by ComicBooksBro



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (Very brief), Angels as Pets (Supernatural), Angels as Slaves (Supernatural), F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lucifer is a dick, Mentioned Abuse, Not Beta Read, Scared Castiel (Supernatural), Scared Gabriel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29543727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComicBooksBro/pseuds/ComicBooksBro
Summary: Castiel is many things, but he’s not beautiful, he’s not well-trained, and he’s not a sellable angel.His wings are pitiful, for one. They would be stunning if Castiel was free, he knows this. They had been stunning once, before the handlers had started hurting him. Shining like an oil spill, Castiel’s wings had been his one point of pride.And then he had reached maturity.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Gabriel (Supernatural), Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17
Collections: r/Darkfics Monthly Prompt Challenge





	$300, in Total

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is dark enough, but here's my fill for the [February r/darkfics prompt challenge.](https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkFics/comments/ladw1k/february_darkfic_writing_challenge/) The prompt I chose was "Darling, it's beautiful, thank you!"
> 
> It's a bit rough, but I hope you enjoy it :)

Castiel is many things, but he’s not beautiful, he’s not well-trained, and he’s not a sellable angel.

His wings are pitiful, for one. They would be stunning if Castiel was free, he knows this. They had been stunning once, before the handlers had started hurting him. Shining like an oil spill, Castiel’s wings had been his one point of pride.

And then he had reached maturity.

Angels who reached maturity without being sold, or becoming employed by their handlers were treated lower than a starving dog in the street. Castiel hadn’t been sold, of course, and he’d rather die than join the handlers, unlike some of his former friends and cellmates had.

He had long since resigned himself to never being sold, except for possibly as a pleasure slave, or a punching bag for those who needed it. Through that resignation, abuse, and other things that Castiel has long since repressed, he had allowed his wings become matted and broken, which reflected his value well. An angel was nothing without their wings.

So when Castiel hears three sets of footsteps approach, he doesn’t look up, and he doesn’t acknowledge them. All Castiel does is curl further into himself, and wrap his ratty, wrecked wings around his thin body. The cold metal of the cage he's been locked in hurts Castiel's skin, even through his threadbare clothes. He tries to ignore the starved knot in his stomach, and how badly he's shaking.

“How can I help you?”

Castiel closes his eyes. Lucifer’s voice grates on Castiel, aggravating his already throbbing head. He wishes that he could say he was surprised when Lucifer elected to join his the trade when he wasn’t sold by the time he was grown, but Lucifer was always like that. Him, Michael, Naomi...

They had all betrayed Castiel in the end.

“Oh, hello Mr... Shurley?”

“Lucifer Shurley.”

“Yeah. Um, is that one for sale?” There’s a pause, and Castiel can only assume the man speaking is pointing at some angel or another. “The one with the gold wings?”

Lucifer chuckles, a sound as greasy as motor oil. “Gabriel? But he’s full grown. Wouldn’t you rather have one of these?”

Without a doubt, Lucifer is talking about fledglings. Castiel knows that the minute that this man and whoever he’s with see the fledglings, any chance Gabriel has of being sold is gone. How they hadn’t already gravitated to the smaller, younger angels, Castiel doesn’t know.

“We’ve already looked at those, and we’d really like this one.” The man clears his throat. “We'd like Gabriel.”

“You’re sure?”

“How much?”

“250 dollars.”

That’s a pitiful amount compared to the tens of thousands of dollars angels can sell for——especially if they’re an archangel like Gabriel——but it’s more than Castiel had thought Lucifer would ask.

“Deal.”

There’s a rustling as cash is exchanged, and then a _click-click_ of chains as Gabriel’s cage is unlocked. Castiel uncurls just enough to see Gabriel scramble out of his cage and step close to the man who has just purchased him.

The man is tall——huge, really——with shaggy brown hair, and a sharp look in his eyes. A woman with dark hair stands next to him, and chooses that moment to speak for the first time since her and the man entered the building.

“Darling, it’s beautiful, thank you!”

The man smiles as Lucifer clips a leash to the collar around Gabriel’s neck.

“Anything for you, Eileen.”

The woman smiles, and Castiel hopes with all of his beaten, cracked heart that Gabriel goes to a decent home.

“I need your name so we can put the sale on file,” Lucifer says, looking at the man.

“Oh!” The man takes the leash from Lucifer and smiles. “Winchester. Sam Winchester.”

And just like that, Castiel’s stomach drops. The Winchester’s are notorious for killing and abusing angels. It’s no wonder they wanted Gabriel. He’s full grown, sturdy, cheap...

Sam Winchester is going to kill Gabriel. Castiel blinks back tears and locks eyes with his surrogate brother one last time.

Gabriel looks like he’s going to cry, and he pulls his shivering wings around himself in an effort to hide his face.

“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Winchester.”

Castiel drops his head to the floor and sobs as Gabriel is led out of the store.

A bell dings as Sam opens the door. “Lucifer! My brother might be along later, so keep your eyes out for him.”

And just like that, Gabriel is gone. Forever.

Castiel cries until he falls asleep.

***

Castiel is somewhere between sleep and wakefulness when the door dings again. He raises his head weakly, and locks his bleary eyes on Lucifer’s most recent customer.

Short hair. Piercing green eyes. Bow legs.

He walks like he owns the place, and that is the moment Castiel knows with 100% certainty that this is Sam Winchester’s brother.

Sam Winchester’s brother, who is making a beeline for Castiel. He kneels in front of Castiel’s too-small cage and looks at Castiel curiously.

“Hey, buddy.” He slips his hand through the bars of Castiel’s cage and pets Castiel’s greasy, tangled hair. Castiel presses himself into the floor. His entire body has started to shake in terror.

“Don’t be scared,” Sam Winchester’s brother whispers. He looks up and down Castiel's body with a worried expression, and draws in a quiet, sharp breath when he takes a closer look at Castiel's wings. A moment later, he withdraws his hand from the cage and wipes it on his jeans. Disgusted, do doubt.

“I was about to tell you to be careful,” Lucifer says, walking over from some other part of the store. “That one bites.”

The small, easy smile in Dean’s face widens. “Even better.” He stands and extends his hand to Lucifer. “Dean Winchester. My brother was here earlier? Picked up a little caramel-winged rat?”

Castiel is furious that Dean would refer to Gabriel as a rat, but stays quiet.

Lucifer’s eyebrows raise slightly in interest, and he shakes Dean’s hand. “Yes, he did.”

“Awesome. You said this guy is a fighter? Um——biter?” Dean nods at Castiel.

Castiel shrinks into the corner, where Dean can’t touch him.

“Very scrappy,” Lucifer replies in a clipped tone.

“He doesn’t look it.”

“Trust me, he is.”

Dean considers Lucifer’s words for a minute, then pulls out his wallet. “Thirty bucks.”

“Fifty.”

“For _that?”_ Dean scoffs. “He looks like he could be taken out by a mouse.”

Lucifer frowns and glares at Castiel like he’s thinking about ripping some feathers from Castiel’s wings just to see if he’ll react. He’s done that before to show Castiel’s durability off to potential buyers.

It never works.

Thankfully, Dean speaks before Lucifer has a chance to finish his thought.

“Fine. Fifty. I’ll take him.”

Suddenly, Castiel feels like dying. He’s been bought by a Winchester, and from the exchange Lucifer and Dean had, it sounds like Dean is going to make him fight.

Castiel is far too tired to fight, though. If he’s lucky, Dean will kill him before Castiel needs to set foot in any sort of combat ring.

Castiel lets out a miserable wail as Lucifer clips a leash to the collar around Castiel’s neck. He’s been sold, officially, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Lucifer tugs on the leash, and Castiel sobs.

“No,” he moans. “Please no.”

Lucifer pulls the leash again, hard enough for Castiel to choke.

_“Move.”_

Castiel stays where he is, wheezing and gasping for air. His eyes roll back into his head, and the world goes fuzzy. Someone shouts. They--Dean?--sound angry. Castiel can't make out any of the words, but the pressure on his throat disappears.

Everything is still out of focus when Castiel is pulled out of his cage by strong arms, and set onto his own, unsteady legs.

Castiel keeps his eyes on the floor. He doesn’t want to look at Dean, or Lucifer.

“Thanks, Luci,” Dean says. He grabs one of Castiel’s shoulders, and guides Castiel out of the store. Castiel shivers and pulls his wings more tightly around himself in order to get out of the building. He blinks in an attempt to clear his vision, and realizes that he’s outside for the first time in years.

Castiel makes an effort to not flap his wings. The urge to spread them out and stretch his atrophied muscles is almost unbearable, but he keeps them folded tightly at his sides. Dean might not like that, and while Castiel usually has no qualms about breaking rules, he's too tired to take whatever punishment Dean would deal out. There’s a slight breeze in the air, and it just about bowls Castiel over. He manages to stay upright, though, and follows Dean out to the parking lot behind the building.

They stop in front of a sleek, black car, and Dean pulls out keys, which is when Castiel starts to shake in earnest.

“I-i-if you’re going to kill me, please get it over with.”

Dean turns around, the keys still in his hand, and his eyes flash with sympathy. “I’m not gonna kill you.” He reaches forward and unfastens the collar from around Castiel’s neck. It falls to the ground with a leather _thunk,_ and Castiel stares at it is disbelief.

“C’mon, get in the car,” Dean says, gesturing at the passenger’s side and opening the door. “I’ll explain everything when we get out of here.”

For one of the first times in his life, Castiel does as he is told. He sits in the car: back straight, perfectly silent, and waits as Dean climbs into the driver’s side and starts the car.

The purr of the engine is surprisingly pleasant, and Dean pulls the car out onto the road quickly. The speed at which Castiel’s former prison disappears behind him is almost dizzying. Dean fiddles with the car’s radio, and slips a cassette tape into the tape deck. Music starts playing softly, and Dean drums his fingers against the steering wheel almost worriedly.

“Do you have a name?”

Castiel hesitates for a second, and then decides that it doesn’t matter one way or another if Dean knows. “My name is Castiel,” he whispers. His voice is scratchy, and his throat is starting to ache from speaking too much. He hasn't been comfortable to talk beyond a few words at a time in months, and mostly sticks to sign language when he communicates with other angels. Of course, Castiel won't need to sign anymore. 

There's no one for him to talk to now.

“Okay,” Dean says. “Castiel, I’ll remember that.” He looks behind himself, shifts lanes, and streaks onto the interstate. “The archangel my brother bought earlier——Gabriel——he’s your friend, right?”

“Y-yes.” 'Friend' doesn’t quite cover it. Gabriel had been the closest thing that Castiel had to a brother. Past tense.

Dean nods and turns his head to look at Castiel, an action which Castiel finds quite anxiety inducing, considering how fast they’re going.

“He’s safe.”

Castiel’s heart stutters in surprise, then soars.

“I’m taking you to meet him right now. We’re on our way to Kansas——we’ve got a place there that’s become sort of an angel-haven. I’m supposed to be in Montana today, but I picked you up instead. Sam——my brother——called after he bought Gabriel. He said you were looking pretty rough, so I offered to swing by and pick you up.” He looks back at the road. “You’re free now, Cas.”

_Free?_

Castiel barely knows the meaning of that word. He opens his mouth to say something--to thank Dean--but the words die on his tongue.

Dean notices. “Take your time. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.” He looks back over at Castiel. “I hope you like rock,” he says, motioning at the radio. “Because that’s really all I’ve got.”

Castiel doesn’t care one way of the other what kind of music Dean has. All that matters is that he’s going to see Gabriel again, and that Gabriel is safe.

And Castiel is free. But free to do what?

“‘Rock’ is fine with me,” Castiel says, still not quite sure of the exact meaning of that type of music. He was never allowed to listen to any.

Dean laughs, and it’s a nice sound. “You might want to lose the air-quotes.”

“But I...”Castiel drops what he was going to say and lowers his eyes to the floor. He tenses in anticipation of being hit——he’s not supposed to argue——but nothing comes.

“You don’t know what rock is?” Dean asks.

“No.”

“Well, you’ve got some work to do then.” Dean taps a box full of cassette tapes. “Look though those until you find something you like.”

Castiel takes the box and stares down at the tapes. “I don’t... thank you, Mr. Winchester.

“You can call me Dean.”

“Thank you, Dean.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos appreciated!


End file.
